Canis Concept Training & Behaviour

03/12/2025

Tomorrow is the day I dread… admin day! Invoice, tax, taking bookings, planning weekly timetable. For me it’s definitely the most stressful part of being self employed 😅

These last few weeks have been super busy with lots of new clients on board along with my lovely regulars! As well as this Tony has been working away a lot so I’ve been left with all 9 dogs (and the other animals too!). So as you can imagine I’ve felt a little snowed under.

As a result my priorities have been in person teaching but the new enquiries have been piling up. It’s now a bit of a daunting task, but tomorrow is the time to tackle it.

So if you’ve been waiting patiently for a reply, thank you! I will be getting back to you by the end of tomorrow. ☺️

In the meantime I will dream of the day that I can afford to employ my own personal admin assistant. That way I can spend all my time with dogs and their wonderful humans! (We can all dream right!) 😉

02/12/2025

Testing the water for a new hoopers group Wednesday mornings at 9am (or potentially Monday evenings at 5pm).

This is open to both beginners as well as those that may already have some experience!

Our hoopers club is probably our most popular option as it’s a sport suitable for all ages and breeds. We also have regular fun mini competitions where all the groups get together to compete in a relaxed club environment. 😊

If there is enough interest I will look to start an extra group from January.

01/12/2025

Thanks to everyone who joined tonight for our mini Christmas hoopers club show!

Unfortunately 3 dogs couldn’t make it but we still had 9 dogs giving it their all on the courses.

1st - Sarah and Celyn (Lab x Collie)
2nd - Tony and Wallace (Kelpie)
3rd - Meg and Jess (Cockapoo)
4th - Alexandra and Zira (Rough Collie)

Love that everyone was working on different goals from building distance to maintaining focus around a new crowd people.

You should all be super proud of all your dogs 🥰

01/12/2025

I can always try to encourage people to attend classes, talk about why it benefits their dog and why I think they’d enjoy it etc.

However, ultimately hearing it from others that have first hand experience is always much more reassuring. So a huge thank you to all my clients that take the time to leave a review it’s not only helpful for me but a big help for perspective clients too. ☺️

01/12/2025

Forgot to share a photo of Isla from our 121 the other day.

Our focus for the session was recall as Isla can be easily distracted and also has high prey drive too.

Being consistent was the aim for everyone:
- Consistently using the longline to prevent rehearsal of unwanted self reinforcing behaviour
- Consistently rewarding good recall (especially in the early stages of training but soon after we will drop to a variable reward schedule)
- Keeping the recall cues consistent from all family members so Isla understands exactly what she is expected to do
- Expecting consistency from Isla too, ignoring a recall isn’t an option. No nagging her to return/repeating cues. Recall is a matter of safety so the longline means we can ensure that!

This all sounds a bit dull, right? However, for the foundation rules keeping it simple makes it easier for everyone to stick to it.

Although, don’t worry we definitely spiced up the training by adding lots of engagement games, tug play and tricks too. The training process itself doesn’t need to be boring✨

P.s. anyone recognise what breed lovely Isla is?

26/11/2025

The view from the barn setting up for our 8am classes.

We were treated to a beautiful sunrise ☀️

19/11/2025

🌟 New life skills classes just added 🌟

Two age levels: young puppies and the foundation group is for dogs 6 months and over.

Covering your basic skills such as loose lead walking, waits etc.

We also have a big focus on confidence building and impulse control too!

If you’d like to attend just follow the link below:
https://bookwhen.com/canisconcept

15/11/2025

A little bit of cross posting as I’m also part of the local agility club committee. However, I thought this competition may appeal to some of my clients on here too!

Raffle numbers are just £1.50 and with that you have the chance to win a pair of agility jump wings or a runner up goodie bag!

To get involved please head to the the agility page and comment directly on the original post ☺️

✨Aberystwyth Dog Agility 100 Raffle!✨

🏆 1st Place - A pair of beautifully refurbished jump wings in club colours. Accompanied with pole and jump cups. Thank you to Sarah for taking the time to make these look so wonderful!
*Handsome dog models not included*

🌟 Runners up - We have two goodie bags packed full of a variety of products your dog will love.

Raffle numbers are £1.50 each and there are 100 numbers up for grabs.

If you have a lucky number then get in there quick and comment below. 😉 We are also happy to lucky dip your numbers if you so wish.

We will add the names to numbers and contact each person for payment in order. If numbers are duplicated and already allocated we will ask you to pick another.

Please try and make sure comments are on the original post as it’s easier for us to keep track.

Once payment is received we will update the post with a ✅ next to the name.

Finally, the big moment! Once all the tickets are allocated we will draw the 3 lucky numbers!

As a community based group we rely on fundraisers to help support our club and to enable us to keep growing the sport of agility in Aberystwyth. So please do get involved as every little helps!

Best of luck everyone! 🤞

RAFFLE NUMBERS:

1. Marit Olsson ✅
2. Sarah Louise South ✅
3. Andrea Wilson ✅
4. Grace Sawyer ✅
5. Sarah Louise South ✅
6. Elaine Rowlands ✅
7. Sarah Louise South ✅
8. Ruth Wonfor ✅
9. Tony Borrell ✅
10. Hannah Ogg ✅
11. Sarah Louise South ✅
12. Marit Olsson ✅
13. Christiane Kloos ✅
14. Pam Roberts ✅
15. Elaine Rowlands ✅
16. Sarah Louise South ✅
17. Callum Jones ✅
18. Emma Morgan ✅
19. Beck Edwards
20. Lisa Howard ✅
21. Wendy Campion ✅
22. Chelsea Lee ✅
23. Jemma Barratt
24. Grace Sawyer ✅
25. Diane Pugh ✅
26. Diane Pugh ✅
27. Dilys Williams ✅
28. Becky Kenny
29. Sarah Louise South ✅
30. Wendy Campion ✅
31. Grace Sawyer ✅
32. Beck Edwards
33.
34. Hannah Ogg ✅
35.
36. Emma Morgan ✅
37.
38. Jackie Storey
39.
40. Ruth Wonfor ✅
41. Claire Powis-Evans ✅
42. Sarah Dalesman ✅
43. Christiane Kloos ✅
44. Sonia Urbaniak
45.
46. Andrea Wilson ✅
47.
48. Dilys Williams ✅
49.
50. Sarah Dalesman ✅
51. Becky Kenny
52.
53. Claire Powis-Evans ✅
54.
55. Iona Morgan
56. Diane Pugh ✅
57.
58.
59.
60. Dilys Williams ✅
61. Mina Morel ✅
62. Andrea Wilson ✅
63. Katie Prickett ✅
64. Pam Roberts ✅
65. Beck Edwards
66.
67.
68. Ruth Wonfor ✅
69. Lisa Howard ✅
70.
71. Hannah Ogg ✅
72. Emma Morgan ✅
73. Dilys Williams ✅
74.
75. Becky Kenny
76.
77. Ruth Wonfor ✅
78. Claire Powis-Evans ✅
79.
80. Chelsea Lee ✅
81.
82. Christiane Kloos ✅
83.
84. Hannah Ogg ✅
85.
86. Sonia Urbaniak
87. Lisa Howard ✅
88.
89. Becky Kenny
90. Andrea Wilson ✅
91.
92. Dilys Williams ✅
93.
94. Jackie Storey
95. Christiane Kloos ✅
96. Lisa Howard ✅
97.
98. Beck Edwards
99. Tony Borrell ✅
100. Katie Prickett ✅

15/11/2025

✨ Recall ✨

For me it’s the most important thing I teach my dogs. Off leash freedom is a privilege rather than a right. They need to show they can recall around all distractions before they progress to off leash fun. 😌

However, having a multidog household of 9 dogs I typically walk the dogs in groups. Therefore my recall cues and what I expect varies a lot!

So thinking about your own recall cue (or cues!), what exactly does it mean to your dog?

Things I consider:
🐾 Which dog I’m recalling, I always use a name check first so everyone knows which dog I’m talking to.
🐾 Tone of voice for that dog. For some of my dogs it’s a simple ‘matter of fact’ voice whereas for others a higher more playful cue suits them.
🐾 What the dog finds reinforcing! At this stage my dogs aren’t always offered massive rewards for recalling (unless I’m in the process of teaching this). Instead it’s something that’s expected if they want their freedom. However, I still verbally praise them and I often make an “event” out of the release to go play again which is reinforcing too!
🐾 Level of distraction. For recalling away from something more enticing such as deer in the forest I do make sure I reward appropriately. Scatter some sausage or for play driven dogs we have a super fun game of tug!
🐾The recall behaviour itself. I often mix this up for a few of my dogs and instead of their usual “come” cue I can use tricks that encourage close proximity such as; middle, touch or heel.
🐾 Different recall for when I am addressing all the dogs.
🐾 A casual “This way!” cue if I need the dogs to change direction immediately. I often use this for unexpected distractions such as loose sheep on our track.
🐾 All my recall cues include some level of duration. I want them to remain with me until it is safe to be released again.

The video was thrown together on a quick 10 minute toilet break for some of the dogs yesterday.

However you can see a few of the cues in action.😁

14/11/2025

…and relax!!!

This week has been a real great week. It’s one of those weeks that has been filled with joyful yet determined clients and some of the loveliest dogs. A mix of my regulars and some newbies too!

We’ve had some steady progress and also massive breakthroughs in everything from hoopers and scent to reactivity and recall training.

It’s been a real feel good week with lots of fun and laughs along the way. So thank you everyone for making my job so enjoyable.

Now it’s time to light the fire and chill out this evening whilst we wait for the storm outside to pass. ☺️

P.s. Even Tide is tired as he’s been assisting me a bit with teaching today!

14/11/2025

Slight change from the glorious sunshine yesterday…

However no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing 😉 still plenty of dogs to be walked! 🐾

09/11/2025

I love that I have so many clients up for trying new things with their dogs! Sue is one of those clients…

On Friday we took her rescue collies Juno and Nef to try canicross. We split the session in half so both dogs got opportunity to learn the ropes (guided by my own experienced canicross dog Nero)!

They were both amazing, super focused and Nef in particular was a little powerhouse.

Canicross is great sport, super accommodating and welcomes all types of runners and dogs! 🐾